Carrying extra weight isn’t just bad for our bodies and self image, but those extra pounds (just a few or more) may well have an impact on how much brain tissue you have, and how old that tissue looks.
Results of brain scans show “severe” signs of brain damage or deteriation in otherwise healthy though elderly subjects who were either overweight or obese according to Paul Thompson, a UCLA professor of neurology and senior author of the new study.
Obese subjects had 8% less brain tissue, and their brains looked 16 years older than the brains of subjects of normal weight. Those who were just overweight had 4% less brain tissue and their brains appeared 8 years older than subjects of normal weight.
The findings of this work appear in the online edition of the journal Human Brain Mapping. The researchers used tensor based morphometry (TBM) to look at the differences between gray matter and white matter in the brains of 94 elderly subjects who continued to have normal brain function for five years following the scans.
Obese subjects lost brain tissue in the frontal and temporal lobes – areas critical for planning and memory – as well as the anterior cingulated gyrus involved in attention and executive functions. The hippocampus (involved in long term memory) and basal ganglia (for movement) were also examined.
Experts have long warned that obesity is associated with an increased risk of problems in the cardiovascular system, as well as conditions like type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, osteoarthritis and even cancers such as endometrial, breast and colon.
It’s the cardiovascular diseases (like heart disease and stroke) that are believed to raise the risk of declines in cognitive function and dementia. According to the World Health Organization, today more than 400 million adults the world over can be classified as obese, another 1.6 billion are overweight.
Obesity is measured with the Body Mass Index (BMI), a useful, though not totally infallible way to compare populations that works for both sexes and adults over 15. A BMI from 25-29.9 is considered overweight; a BMI of 30 or over is considered obese, though there is evidence that the risk of chronic disease starts increasing even at BMIs as low as 21. As the BMI rises, so too do risks for disease.
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Obese Have “Severe” Brain Degeneration Continued…
Lead researcher Thompson points out, “That’s a big loss of tissue and it depletes your cognitive reserves, putting you at much greater risk of Alzheimer’s and other diseases that attack the brain. But you can greatly reduce your risk for Alzheimer’s, if you can eat healthily and keep your weight under control.”
Getting control of your weight is a totally natural, truly affordable and best of all, within your control way of keeping your brain (and the rest of you) healthy in the years to come. Even if you’ve spent a lifetime eating poorly or not working out… you can make a change now. Losing just a little bit of weight can have an impact – just look at the difference between being overweight (brain looks 8 years older) and obese (brain looks 16 years older) to see the impact less weight can have on your body.
Moving forward, if you or someone you love is obese or overweight, understand that all those extra pounds didn’t appear overnight and won’t be fixed in a few days or weeks. Slow, steady weight loss is what you’re after, and before long that one or two pounds a week will add up to smaller sizes, feeling better, staying sharper, avoi these signs of brain damage, and looking incredible to boot!
To your good health,
Kirsten Whittaker
Daily Health Bulletin Editor
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